Tony Blair's premiership began in adulation and fear. Cheering crowds acclaimed him as if they were celebrating a national rebirth, not a mere change of government. But in his memoirs, Mr Blair tells us that even while he was grinning and waving, he was in the grip of fear: would he be any good at governing? The next 10 years would justify those anxieties.
David Cameron's innings started with deals, delays and disappointments. There was a coalition to manage, an economic crisis to avert and drastic spending cuts to implement. The new PM had every reason to feel fearful, except that he does not do fearful. He just got on with it. That is the spirit in which he is approaching next week's return of Parliament.
